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closeThursday, Oct. 29, 2009
Movie preview looks at holiday releases, from Oscar bait to kids’ fare
Movie preview: holiday flicks, Oscar hopefuls, Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker go west.
By CARY DARLING
dfw.com
The holidays may be the best time to go to the movies.
Unlike in the summer, when it’s all about killer robots, this time of year usually provides a balance between big-budget blockbusters and more intellectual, Oscar-hungry fare. Here, then, are some of the films that you’re going to be talking about this season. Remember, opening dates are subject to change and local release dates may vary.
Friday
A Christmas Carol
What it is: A 3-D animated take on the Dickens warhorse directed by Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Cast Away, The Polar Express). It also will be available in IMAX.
Who’s in it: Voices of Jim Carrey, Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn
The buzz: The combination of the Dickens classic with Zemeckis’ accessible style and the Disney stamp should make this a family favorite.
The Box
What it is: A thriller about a couple who receive a mysterious box and later discover that, by simply opening it, they’ve become rich — but at a steep cost.
Who’s in it: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella
The buzz: If this sounds like a Twilight Zone episode, that’s because it’s based on a story by Richard Matheson, who wrote for TZ. And it’s directed by Richard Kelly of Donnie Darko fame.
The Fourth Kind
What it is: A sci-fi thriller about a psychiatrist in Nome, Alaska, investigating claims of alien abduction.
Who’s in it: Milla Jovovich, Will Patton, Elias Koteas
The buzz: By using what is claimed to be actual footage of psychiatric patients reliving their experiences, this film might tap into the same video vérité realism that’s fueling Paranormal Activity’s success.
The Men Who Stare at Goats
What it is: A topical comedy about an Army unit that experiments with paranormal powers.
Who’s in it: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey
The buzz: Loud. As an actor, director Grant Heslov has done a ton of mainstream stuff from CSI to Seinfeld. As a director, he is far more underground, but this could be his break into the big time.
Nov. 13
2012
What it is: A disaster movie based on the supposed predictions of the Mayan calendar that say the world will end in 2012.
Who’s in it: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, Woody Harrelson
The buzz: The trailers show off impressive special effects, and director Roland Emmerich may not be a critic’s favorite, but his films (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) usually find a big audience, with the exception of 10,000 BC.
Fantastic Mr. Fox
What it is: Texas director Wes Anderson’s animated take on the Roald Dahl novel about farmers trying to oust a fox from their midst.
Who’s in it: Voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe
The buzz: The combination of Anderson’s off-kilter reputation (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) with Dahl’s popularity (James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), controversy during filming (Anderson reportedly wasn’t on set much of the time, preferring to direct via e-mail), and a big-name cast should draw an audience of all ages.
Gentlemen Broncos
What it is: Director Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre) returns with a comedy about an aspiring teenage writer whose ideas are pilfered by a big-time novelist.
Who’s in it: Michael Angarano, Jemaine Clement, Steve Berg
The buzz: Curiosity about what the Napoleon Dynamite guy is up to provides some attraction, although initial reviews, as in The Hollywood Reporter, have not been kind.
Pirate Radio
What it is: A comedic drama about illegal pirate radio stations in 1960s Britain that played rock music banned by official outlets.
Who’s in it: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy
The buzz: Director/writer Richard Curtis earned accolades for his 2003 film, Love Actually, so there’s anticipation to see what he’s up to.
Red Cliff
What it is: A historical Chinese epic based on a legendary third-century battle.
Who’s in it: Tony Leung Chiu Wei, Takeshi Kaneshiro
The buzz: John Woo (Mission: Impossible II) returns to his roots and has come up with a blockbuster film that is the most expensive ever made in Asia, where it was a massive hit.
Nov. 20
The Blind Side
What it is: An up-from-struggle sports movie about an overweight, undereducated young man who becomes an NFL prospect.
Who’s in it: Sandra Bullock, Kathy Bates, Tim McGraw
The buzz: It’s based on a true story and is directed by Longview native John Lee Hancock (The Rookie, TheAlamo).
Planet 51
What it is: An animated film about an astronaut who lands on Planet 51, a place a lot like American suburbia.
Who’s in it: Voices of Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Justin Long, Gary Oldman
The buzz: It can be hard for an animated film that’s not coming through the Disney or DreamWorks pipeline (this one is through TriStar), especially one with a novice director. But maybe it will overcome the odds.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
What it is: The sequel to Twilight, the successful take on the novels about young vampires.
Who’s in it: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning
The buzz: Anticipation among Twilight fans has been building since the credits rolled on the first one.
Nov. 25
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
What it is: Post-Katrina New Orleans is the setting for this cop drama about the murder of Senegalese immigrants.
Who’s in it: Nicolas Cage, Val Kilmer, Eva Mendes
The buzz: German director Werner Herzog’s take on the Bad Lieutenant saga is bound to be controversial.
Ninja Assassin
What it is: A martial-arts extravaganza starring South Korean superstar Rain and directed by James McTeigue, who made V for Vendetta.
Who’s in it: Rain, Naomie Harris, Randall Duk Kim
The buzz: Although McTeigue’s The Invasion (his take on Invasion of the Body Snatchers) was a flop, this could resurrect his reputation.
Old Dogs
What it is: Wild Hogs/Van Wilder director Walt Becker returns with a comedy about a pair of 7-year-olds who have to supervise two adults.
Who’s in it: John Travolta, Robin Williams, Matt Dillon, Bernie Mac
The buzz: This is the kind of movie that could be a brilliant take on a rather slim plot or could go totally off the rails.
The Road
What it is: Civilization has collapsed, and a father and son struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.
Who’s in it: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Robert Duvall
The buzz: Based on the bestselling, celebrated novel by Cormac McCarthy (the novel No Country for Old Men), this film would seem to be an automatic hit, though it might prove too dark and depressing for a wide audience.
Dec. 4
Armored
What it is: A thriller about a group of armored-car drivers who decide to pull a heist.
Who’s in it: Matt Dillon, Laurence Fishburne, Skeet Ulrich, Jean Reno, Milo Ventimiglia
The buzz: Anyone who has gone to a movie in the past year or so has seen the give-away-the-entire-plot trailer by now. Not a good sign.
Brothers
What it is: The younger brother of an American soldier serving in Afghanistan gets more involved in the lives of his sister-in-law and her family.
Who’s in it: Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Sam Shepard
The buzz: The season’s lone entry in the America-at-war category might have a tough time at the box office considering how other such films have done.
Everybody’s Fine
What it is: A lonely widower hits the road to reconnect with his adult children during the holidays.
Who’s in it: Robert De Niro, Kate Beckinsale, Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell
The buzz: The movie offers De Niro the kind of bittersweet role that could earn him another Oscar nomination, something he hasn’t enjoyed since 1992, for Cape Fear.
Me and Orson Welles
What it is: Texas director Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, School of Rock) returns with this ’30s-era period piece about a young man who gets a part in a staging of Julius Caesar directed by Orson Welles.
Who’s in it: Ben Chaplin, Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay
The buzz: It has been awhile since Linklater had a big hit, and, despite the presence of Efron, this may not be one either. The Hollywood Reporter liked it but said it probably wouldn’t find an audience outside of arthouses, while Variety wrote, "This British-produced period piece will test how much the High School Musical star means as a movie name."
Up in the Air
What it is: This comedic drama revolves around the comeuppance of a high-flying exec whose job it is to travel to various cities firing people.
Who’s in it: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride, J.K. Simmons
The buzz: Deafening. This is director Jason Reitman’s first feature film since Juno, and it seems assured of similar popularity.
Dec. 11
Invictus
What it is: A look at the first year of Nelson Mandela’s administration after the collapse of South African apartheid.
Who’s in it: Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman
The buzz: Directed by Clint Eastwood, Invictus is the kind of film that screams for Oscar attention.
The Lovely Bones
What it is: Director Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings) moves out of Middle Earth and takes on the acclaimed novel by Alice Sebold about a slain girl who watches over her family from the afterlife.
Who’s in it: Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli, Saoirse Ronan
The buzz: This is one of the year’s mega releases. Jackson would really have to drop the ball for this one to fail.
The Princess and the Frog
What it is: An animated musical, set in New Orleans and based on the old Frog Prince story, about a prince-turned-frog who needs the kiss of a princess to break the spell.
Who’s in it: Voices of Oprah Winfrey, John Goodman, Angela Bassett, Keith David, Terrence Howard
The buzz: Disney made waves when it announced that The Princess and the Frog would feature its first animated African-American princess.
The Slammin’ Salmon
What it is: A comedy about a restaurant owner who stages a contest to see which of his waitstaff can earn the most money in a night
Who’s in it: Michael Clarke Duncan, Jay Chandrasekhar, Will Forte
The buzz: Advance word out of festivals, such as South by Southwest where it screened, is that it’s very funny.
Dec. 18
Avatar
What it is: Humans are the invading aliens as they make war on a planet’s indigenous population.
Who’s in it: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, CCH Pounder
The buzz: James Cameron’s first nondocumentary film since Titanic promises to be a special-effects extravaganza.
Did You Hear About the Morgans?
What it is: A comedy about an urbane New York family relocated to Wyoming as part of the witness-protection program.
Who’s in it: Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sam Elliott, Mary Steenburgen
The buzz: Writer/director Marc Lawrence seems to have a lot of luck in the rom-com genre with films such as Music and Lyrics and Miss Congeniality, which he produced.
Dec. 25
Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
What it is: A sequel to the 2007 hit about the singing chipmunks.
Who’s in it: David Cross, Christina Applegate, Anna Faris, Amy Poehler
The buzz: With kids out of school for the holidays and parents looking for things to do, The Squeakquel just might enjoy its predecessor’s success.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
What it is: An adventure/fantasy about a traveling theater company
Who’s in it: Johnny Depp, Heath Ledger, Colin Farrell, Jude Law, Tom Waits, Christopher Plummer
The buzz: Directed by Terry Gilliam (Brazil, 12 Monkeys), this should be visually impressive, while the seemingly improbable lineup of lead actors should draw in the curious.
It’s Complicated
What it is: A romantic comedy about a divorced couple who rekindle their romance. Trouble is that he has remarried, now making his first wife "the other woman."
Who’s in it: Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, John Krasinski
The buzz: Written/directed by Nancy Meyers (What Women Want, The Holiday), this has "hit" written all over it.
Nine
What it is: A musical about a film director and his complicated personal life.
Who’s in it: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson
The buzz: Director Rob Marshall struck box-office gold with his last musical, Chicago.
Sherlock Holmes
What it is: The venerable Sherlock Holmes and his pal Watson try to derail a plot to destroy England.
Who’s in it: Robert Downey Jr., Rachel McAdams, Jude Law
The buzz: This could revive director Guy Ritchie’s career, as his last few films (RocknRolla, Swept Away) have not been smashes.
Cary Darling is the Star-Telegram pop culture critic, 817-390-7571
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